Sassy Ever After: Cover Your Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  When he backed up a step, she scrambled to get out from under him. “You are seriously in trouble. I’m going out to get you some clothes. You’d better be shifted when I get back.”

  As she turned toward the door, he padded toward her. He wanted one last sniff before she left. But when he pushed his nose into the space between her thighs, she screamed. She turned and smacked his nose. Security raced into the room.

  “Are you okay?” the guard asked.

  “Yes. But he’s lucky I don’t kick him in the nuts right now. Seriously Jax, get your shit together.”

  Jax whined as she disappeared into the hall with the guard. Thirty minutes later, security returned with a pile of clothes. He was able to force his wolf down so that he could shift into his human form.

  “Your woman brought these. Personally, I wouldn’t piss off a fine girl like that,” the guard said.

  “She’s not my woman,” Jax grumbled.

  “Well then you’re a bigger fool than I thought. I’d like to get my hands on that body. Goddamn, she’s hot.”

  “Keep your hands to yourself unless you want to lose them,” Jax said.

  After quickly getting dressed in a brand-new Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants, he set out to find her. She knew he wouldn’t be caught dead in a Hawaiian shirt, so she was definitely pissed. This was obviously part of his punishment—hopefully the only part. If she was in one of her post-tournament moods, then he was in trouble.

  He searched the poker room and the pool deck before making his way toward the center of the casino. He spotted her perched on a stool in the packed bar. Another shifter sat beside her, close enough that their knees touched. Too close.

  Jax stalked toward her. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “You found me.”

  “Can I talk to you…alone?” he asked.

  She sighed and plucked a toothpick full of olives out of her martini glass. After sucking each one from the stick, she nodded. As she slid off the stool, the man next to her grabbed her upper arm.

  “Will you be around later?” the man asked.

  “Maybe.” She pulled away from his grip and sashayed toward the aisle.

  “Who was that?” Jax asked.

  “Just some guy I met.”

  “You need to be careful. If you start talking to the wrong shifter, you could be in danger. There are a few men here who won’t take no for an answer.”

  “I can handle myself,” she said. “Which is more than I can say for you.”

  As he followed her toward the hotel elevators, he frowned. Why were they going up to their rooms? He almost questioned it as they stepped into the elevator, but the stone-cold look in her eyes silenced him.

  They got out on the thirty-fifth floor. When they reached the door to her room, she jammed her keycard in the lock. She pushed open the door and when he didn’t immediately follow, she glanced over her shoulder.

  “Coming?”

  He hesitated because she’d never invited him into her room before. Maybe he was in deeper trouble than he’d realized.

  Chapter 2

  Riley led Jax through the hall into the lounge area. Normally she didn’t splurge for a suite, but they’d comped her. A little flirting with the hotel manager had helped her secure an amazing view. Crystal-clear windows ran from floor to ceiling along the length of one wall. Down below, dazzling lights flickered on in the twilight. The setting sun sent streaks of fire across the valley floor before dipping below the mountain.

  She kicked off her heels and padded across the polished mahogany floor toward the bar.

  “Want a drink?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Whiskey?”

  “Always,” he said. “This is one hell of an upgrade. I thought all of the rooms on this floor were the same.”

  “No. The ones facing the strip are bigger.” She pulled the top off of a crystal decanter. “Rocks or straight?”

  “Straight. With the day I’m having, I don’t need it watered down.”

  “What happened? You seemed fine when I left you at the table.”

  As she handed him the snifter full of amber liquid, a few drops sloshed over the side. She brought her fingers to her lips and licked the whiskey. The alcohol burned across her tongue. Usually she drank wine, but today she needed something stronger. Even in the ridiculous Hawaiian shirt, Jax exuded feral masculinity. It was hard not to stare at every inch of him.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  She filled a second glass with whiskey and dropped a couple of ice cubes in. Jax wandered into the sunken living room and took a seat on the plush, dark purple sofa. She slid into a matching lounge chair and reclined against it.

  “How did you end up locked up?” she asked.

  He sighed. “That guy from earlier got moved to our table. I was all-in with trip aces and he turned a straight with a three. A three! Can you believe that shit?”

  “Did you raise pre-flop?”

  “No.”

  “Well then, you were basically asking for it.” She grinned over the lip of the glass.

  “You’re lucky I like you.” He smirked. “Sorry that I had to be the one to knock you out of the tourney.”

  “Shit happens. So how have you been? I haven’t seen you since Foxwoods.” It had only been a couple of weeks since she’d last seen him, but it had felt like a lifetime.

  “I’ve been in Vegas for the last week. I met a couple of guys from a local pack and we’ve spent the last few weeks having fun.”

  “What kind of fun?”

  She took a swig of her drink and tried to stamp down her nerves. He was probably going to tell her about trips to bars, strip clubs, and God knows what else. But with a little more booze in her system, she’d be able to endure it.

  “The pack lives on Mt. Charleston. We did a lot of shifting and running through the forest. Wolf stuff mostly.”

  “Mostly?” she asked.

  “Mostly.”

  The glint in his eye gave him a roguish look. She tossed back the rest of the whiskey. She wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions. As she stood, he eyed her with a bemused expression.

  “Can I get a refill too?” He shook his empty glass. “Please.”

  “Only because you asked nicely.”

  “You’re prickly today.”

  “I’m only like this when I have to fetch you from security like a dogcatcher,” she said.

  “A dogcatcher?”

  As she headed toward the bar, he leapt off of the couch to follow.

  “I’m not a dog,” he growled.

  “Sometimes you act like one.” She filled both glasses.

  “I didn’t do anything when I was with that other pack,” he said. “Is that what you’re really mad about? That I came to Vegas without you? There weren’t any games running other than the dailies or I would have called you.”

  “It’s not that.”

  She took a large drink. Heat burned down her throat. She wasn’t even entirely sure what was bothering her. Maybe it was the thought of all the wild and willing women roaming around Vegas that had her on edge. Women flocked to Jax wherever he went. This wasn’t anything new. But for some reason, she couldn’t stand thinking about what he could have done during his week in Vegas. She shouldn’t even care. She didn’t have any claim over him. But she did. God help her, she did.

  He set his glass down on the bar and leaned his hip against it. He studied her with a questioning gaze.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “You’re mad about something. Talk to me.” As he gazed at her with his honey-hued eyes, his forehead crinkled.

  “Jax, I think you should go,” she said.

  She tried to walk away from him, but he quickly moved to cage her against the bar.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”

  Heat pooled in her core. She’d never been this close to
him before and his scent was driving her crazy.

  “Are you mad because I came to Vegas without you?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “But you’re angry about something, right?”

  He brushed a strand of golden hair from her cheek. The rough pad of his thumb grazed her flesh long enough to make her burn for him. How many times had she fantasized about him touching her like this? It wasn’t even sexual, but her pussy went slick with need. She bit back a whimper. She couldn’t let him know what effect he was having on her.

  When she bit the edge of her lip, his gaze dropped to her mouth. Specks of gold glistened in his eyes. Unmistakable lust flared in his expression. And before she could take another breath, he dipped to brush his lips across hers. She froze. This was her best friend. Her comrade at the tables. And he’d just crossed the ultimate line between them.

  She swallowed as he pulled away. He regarded her as if asking for permission to kiss her again. But before she could move, he returned to crush his lips against hers. She moaned and reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair. The floor seemed to fall out from under her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.

  Spicy heat invaded her mouth as his tongue slipped between her lips. The taste of whiskey and forbidden passion incinerated any last bastion of hesitation. Incredibly wet and shivering with desire, she threw her head back to expose her throat. Jax dragged his lips along the curve of her jaw before devouring her neck with sultry kisses.

  When he dipped lower, she gasped. His hands slid up from her waist to pull her shirt out of her jeans. He slowed to caress her trembling belly before reaching up to cup her breasts. She lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it across the room. Cool air coaxed each nipple into a taut peak. They rubbed against her lacy white bra with each rapid breath. She almost hyperventilated when he leaned down to lick her nipple through the cloth. But she lost it when he sucked the other nipple between his lips.

  She cried out as electric sparks of lust radiated from her breasts to her pussy. In the back of her mind, she knew this was wrong, but that made it even more erotic. She shouldn’t be unbuttoning his shirt or pulling it down over his broad, muscular shoulders. And she definitely shouldn’t be raking her nails down his chest. But she was, and the freedom was incredible. She’d been holding back for years. Maybe tonight would be the biggest mistake of her life, but she couldn’t stop now.

  He reached back to unhook her bra and had it off in seconds. Practice, her mind screamed. She ignored the damning voice of caution. Maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that she’d suppressed her feelings for years, but something inside her snapped. She wouldn’t be satisfied until they had sex.

  The moment he slipped her bra down to expose her breasts, she moved to cover them.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “I want to see you.”

  He gently grasped her wrists with his hands and dragged them down to her sides. With the backs of his fingers, he traced little circles around her nipples.

  “You should never be shy about your body,” he murmured. “You’re stunning.”

  A rush of emotion brought her close to tears. She quickly blinked them away and buried her face in his chest. He held her for a moment before leaning to capture her lips with his. As he kneaded and cradled her breasts in the palms of his hands, molten heat pooled in her sex.

  Desperate for more contact, she reached down to unbutton his jeans. His breath hitched. He broke the kiss and gazed at her through hooded eyes. When she unbuttoned his khakis, he moved to do the same with her jeans. She unzipped him and shoved his pants over his hips. Her attention fixated on the swell of his cock against his boxers. She licked her lips. She wanted to taste him.

  But before she could drop to her knees, he knelt before her and tugged her jeans down past her hips. Without hesitation, he pressed his face against the apex of her thighs. Hot breath tickled her pussy. He growled and grabbed her around the backs of her knees. Before she could register what was happening, he hauled her over his shoulder and carried her down the hall.

  “Which door?” he asked gruffly.

  “On the left. At the end.”

  He kicked open the door and carried her into the large bedroom. Light from the strip flickered through the window to cast a kaleidoscope of color across the wall. A huge white bed took up the center of the room. When he dumped her onto it, she panicked. This was really going to happen. She sat straight up.

  “Jax!”

  “Hmm?” His fiery gaze raked across her naked body.

  She opened her mouth to ask if they should be doing this, but couldn’t make the words come. Apparently unwilling to wait, he climbed onto the bed beside her. He slipped his fingers between her lace panties and her skin and tugged them down. When he shucked his boxers, she gasped. His cock was huge.

  Thick with an intricate pattern of veins, his cock was so beautiful it was almost obscene. She’d kill for a vibrator shaped so perfectly. Maybe she’d let him cast it. She’d seen a kit for it on the internet, so why not?

  “You want this?” he asked in a husky tone.

  She wasn’t sure if he meant sex in general, or his throbbing cock. She wanted it all. Everything that he was willing to give.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He slid down between her thighs and drew her legs apart. As he gazed at her pussy, she watched him for any sign of disappointment. She probably couldn’t compare to all of the other women he’d been with. She’d seen some of them and they were gorgeous. She was just… her.

  “You have the most delicate pink pussy. I can’t wait to taste you.”

  “Oh my God.”

  He grinned before blowing a breath across her lips. Her mouth went dry. She desperately wanted another sip of whiskey, but there was no way in hell she was going to interrupt him now.

  As his lips teased her with feathery kisses, she arched and wriggled closer. His dark, sexy laugh vibrated against her, sending arcing currents throughout her body. But it was nothing compared to the first brush of his tongue across her pussy lips.

  “Oh God!”

  “I haven’t even started,” he said.

  “Don’t stop.”

  “I won’t. Not tonight.”

  She wanted to know what he meant by “not tonight.” Obviously this would be the only time they’d let themselves lose control. Their friendship was too precious to waste on trying to have a real relationship. This was just sex. A release of whatever this ongoing tension was between them. Nothing more.

  As his tongue swirled and curled around her clit, she quivered. He flattened his tongue and used it to tease and torment her until she writhed with unchecked passion. No man had ever been this good. This incredibly—

  “Jax! What are you—”

  He slipped a finger between her sopping-wet folds.

  “I love that you’re already soaked for me,” he murmured.

  She responded by sucking in her next breath. The soft slide of his finger into her overwhelmed her senses. With each stroke, he brought her closer and closer to the brink of total ecstasy.

  A deep, primal yearning rose up to consume her. When his lips captured her clit and he pushed another finger inside, she jerked her hips to the side. It was too much, too intense, and her heart pounded so hard that she was afraid she’d faint. But just when she thought she’d die from the tension, she exploded against his mouth.

  Racked with vicious waves of crashing pleasure, she screamed. She jerked against him as each tremor strengthened. He didn’t stop the relentless pressure even when she sobbed and tried to push his head away. Somehow he was prolonging the rapturous bliss. He ravished her with his roving lips and tongue until she collapsed on the bed, unable to move.

  ***

  Jax sat back on his heels and surveyed her quaking body. She was more beautiful than he ever imagined. He’d been wrong all the times he’d stood in the shower of his hotel room, fisting his cock, yearning to release her hold over h
im. She was everything to him. His best friend. His confidant. But never his lover.

  He respected her too much to cross that line, at least he had until tonight. Maybe he was going to destroy their friendship, but his wolf snarled and snapped at him to mark her. The beast wanted to possess every inch of her delectable body. With every curve on display, she awakened a dormant need that coursed through his veins. This was more than just lust, but he wasn’t about to analyze it.

  Spread wide, he couldn’t keep her waiting. As he tried to crawl across her body, she pulled him onto his back.

  “Not so fast, wolfie,” she whispered. “I get to taste you first.”

  He groaned as she rolled to her knees. She hovered over him for a moment before reaching to take his cock into her hand. A drop of pre-cum glistened on the tip for a second before she dipped to take him into her mouth. She ran her lips down the length of him before pulling back to lick the length of his shaft. When she grazed the tops of his balls, he groaned. She sucked each one into her mouth before moving back to reclaim him.

  The hot, wet swirl of her tongue enslaved him. He was helpless against the suction of her lips, and the way she moved at the perfect pace. As she milked his cock with her mouth, soft slurping sounds filled the air. Tingling energy gathered at the base of his spine to flow toward his cock. He wanted it to last forever, but heat coiled in his balls. If he didn’t stop her, he’d shoot ribbons of hot cum down her throat.

  He almost came at the thought. It was all he could do to drag her up by her hair. He pulled her up to kiss her long and hard. And then he froze. Son of a bitch. He’d completely forgotten about protection. Not that he’d planned this. But he hadn’t been carrying anything with him for weeks. He’d lost interest in casual sex, so he hadn’t been walking around prepared.

  “Baby,” he whispered. “I don’t have protection.”

  “I’m on the pill and shifters can’t carry human diseases, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Then take me,” she challenged.

  She didn’t have to ask twice.

  As he moved between her thick, luscious thighs, his cock ached with the need to fill her. He’d dreamed about sinking into her moist heat for years, but never imagined it actually happening.